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Notes:

Tristan is wounded and left for dead after a battle, he is nursed back to health by a mysterious Irish beauty. Their affair is cut short when Tristan must return to England. The Irish king gives his daughter away as the prize in a tournament between all the champions of England. Tristan wins the princess's hand for Lord Marke and is horrified to see that the woman he has won for his Lord, is his Irish savior Isolde.

Roger EbertFull ReviewGood 'Tristan & Isolde' begins with bits of the same myth that has inspired works ranging from sword & sorcery movies ('Lovespell') to operas by Wagner, and transforms them, rather surprisingly, into a lean and effective action romance.

USA TodayFull ReviewAbove Average Though it's being billed as the pre-cursor to Romeo and Juliet, it doesn't come close to the haunting romance of Franco Zeffirelli's seminal 1968 film.

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OPINION OVERVIEWThe following is the original "What's Worth
Watching" write-up for this movie.

Moviegoer Opinions:

Based on a theater exit polling of 189 moviegoers:It appears "Tristan & Isolde" is more of a "chick flick." The ladies loved it. The men, for the most part, thought it was a "Good" to "Very Good" movie, which certainly isn't bad, but it's not great. Still, the male opinions are plenty good enough to recommend "Tristan & Isolde" as a good date movie.

After the fall of Rome, the warlords of England are brutally kept in line by the forces of Irish King Donnchadh. One of these leaders, Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell) seeks to unite the English tribes to form one strong nation to rule itself. His greatest knight is Tristan (James Franco), whom Marke raised since he was orphaned in an Irish attack that also took Marke's family. With Tristan by his side, Marke believes he can unify his people and rid England of Irish rule. But Tristan harbors a terrible secret…

Wounded and left for dead after battle, he is nursed back to health by Isolde (Sophia Myles), a mysterious Irish beauty who hides him from her father, King Donnchadh's, forces and brings him back to life. But their passionate affair is cut short when Tristan must return to England, not knowing if he will see Isolde again.
Still seeking to throw the English tribes back into chaos, King Donnchadh gives away his daughter as the prize in a tournament between all the champions of England. Tristan wins the princess' hand for Lord Marke, whose vision of a united England may finally be realized.

Tristan is horrified to see that the woman he has won for his Lord, the woman whom Marke will marry, is his Irish savior Isolde. Worse, Marke is a good and worthy future king, whose belief in Tristan has made the young knight who he is.

First separated by countries at war, and now by loyalty to King and country, Tristan and Isolde must suppress their emotions for the sake of peace and the future of England. But the more they deny their passion, the more fiercely it burns. Despite their efforts to stay apart, Tristan and Isolde are driven inexorably together, risking everything for one last moment in each other's arms.